Elements of Poetry
Topics to consider in analysis:
1) ____graphical or _________ical context
2) Speaker – NOT necessarily the author
3) Meaning
4) __________ form and/or _______ of poem
5) Tone
6) __________ality
7) ___________ative language
8) Word choice, diction and syntax
Speaker is the character or ________ through which the poem is _______ and is not always the ___________/poet.
Tone is the ____________ a writer takes ___________ a subject or character: serious, humorous, sarcastic, admiring,
ironic, satirical, tongue-in-cheek, solemn, sense of wonder, objective, etc. [Note: This is similar to mood although
mood is the __________’S attitude created by the writing.]
Forms of poetry
1) Lyric - expresses the thoughts and __________ of the _______; may resemble a ______ in form or style (sonnet or
an ode) THIS IS NOT the same meaning as a lyric of a song, however.
2) Ode – Lyric poem _____ing some subject and written in dignified or _____________ language
3) Elegy - a mournful poem lamenting the _______ or __________ing a loss
4) Narrative – tells a _________ (Ex: ballad, epic) with a full plot structure (intro, conflict, climax, resolution)
5) Ballad – narrative poem that has a full _______, similar to a folk tale or legend and often has a repeated
____________
6) Epic – _______, serious narrative poem usually dealing with a _________ character (the Odyssey by Homer or
Beowulf)
7) Free verse - rhymed or ___rhymed lines that have no _____ ______________
8) Sonnet - poem that is ____ lines long, has a set __________ ; Elizabethan/Shakespearean OR Italian/Petrarchan
9) Didactic – designed to teach an ethical, religious or moral lesson
10) Concrete - takes the shape of the object it describes (i.e. a love poem in the shape of a heart)
11) Other possible subjects: Nature, Love, Descriptive, Historical, Religious, Humorous, Loss
(Poems will fall into more than one category in many cases.)
Musicality
1) Repetition of a sound, syllable, word, phrase, line, stanza, or metrical pattern is employed as a basic ________ing
device (such as a ____________).
2) Rhyme
a) Approximate rhyme – Words that are similar in sound, but _____ exactly (not spelling).
Ex: send and when, sun and plum
“And as I stared I counted, the webs from all the spiders
Catching things and eating their insides”
I Miss You-Blink 182
b) Internal rhyme – rhyming __________ a line Ex: “Fifty miles to go and she was running low” Jesus Take the
Wheel-Carrie Underwood
c) Exact rhyme – the later part of the word or phrase is ___________ sounding to another
Ex: cold/bold;
Towards the battle we go side by side
Our hearts are filled with honour and pride
Revelations-Dragonforce
d) End rhyme – rhymed words at the ends of __________
e) Couplet – two _________________ lines with end rhyme
3) Alliteration – repetition of ________________, especially at the beginning of words, AKA front rhyme
Ex: Come see the softer side of Sears.
4) Assonance – repetition of similar _________ sounds in a poetic line Ex: A moony tune made me swoon.
5) Consonance – repetition of similar ___________ sounds in a line creating a harmonious sound
6) Rhythm - musical quality produced by the repetition of stressed and unstressed _____________.
7) Meter – basic rhythmic structure/unit of verse
8) Onomatopoeia – words formed in such a way that the sound of words ___________ the sounds of the thing they
describe.
Ex: Plop, plop, fizz, fizz … or Snap, Crackle, Pop!
9) Refrain – Repeated set of lines or verse in a poem or song
10.08.15
10) Cacophony-a choppy sound created by using hard consonant sounds (i.e. the horse stumbled, rocking forward in
agony)
Figurative Language
 Metaphor – two things are identified with each other; an ___________ comparison (without like or as)
Ex: I was an exiled child in the crackling dusk of the underworld.
 Simile – two objects are ______________ and shown to have one or more qualities in common using like, as,
resembles, or as if
Ex: The ocean looks like a thousand diamonds / Strewn across a blue blanket. -Incubus
 Allusion – direct or indirect reference to something _____________ the poem
Ex: He was a Scrooge and would not donate to charity.
 Hyperbole – obvious _________________
Ex: I was so hungry that I could have eaten a horse.
 Personification – ___________ form or characteristics are given to ___________, ___________ or ideas
Ex: I walk through the hills / Cause she knows who I am -Red Hot Chili Peppers
 Synecdoche - a part is used to designate the ___________ or the whole is used to designate a _________.
Ex: “all hands on deck” means “all men on deck,” not just their hands
 Apostrophe – a person, a thing or an abstract quality is addressed or ______________ to directly
Ex: Oh, Earth! Oh, Earth! You are my salvation.
(direct address)
 Oxymoron – two seeming _________________ combined
Ex: calm like a bomb [Rage Against the Machine]; hot ice (more common with words next to each other)
Word Choice, Diction and Syntax
 Word Choice / Diction - A writer’s choice of words, phrases, sentence structures, and figurative language,
which combine to help create meaning (formal/informal, casual, slang, dialect) Does the writer use any words
or phrases that are unique or stylistic?
 Connotation/Denotation – implied attitudes carried by the word versus the dictionary definition
NOTE: Underlined terms are testable on the poetry unit test, SBAC test and Semester I Final exam. Make
flashcards for these terms. Write one example on the card, when given above.
Steps to Analyzing a Poem/Song
1.Observe the poem’s physical attributes (how many lines, syllables, shape, unusual grammar, etc.)
2.Read to detect the rhythm and musicality
3.Read again for meaning and identify speaker
4.Note use of figurative language and other poetic devices
5.Decide how the poetry applies to you or makes you feel about the subject – your opinion or how you connect
with the poem
10.08.15